Time's Scar
by Parasite Dragon
Summary: Cloud's past is starting to catch up with him, Sephiroth returns to destroy Cloud's world, and everyone in it. Can Cloud over come his demons and save this world once more? And who might be this young girl, that seems so have some strange power of sight?
1. The Golden Saucer

((Hello! As many of you may know, I deleted my story FF7 2. Sad huh? Well this is a better version of that story, so enjoy! Also, as I said in the last FF7 2, I have changed some of the storyline around, because I can.

Disclaimer: No, I don't own FF7. But Aiko is my character!

_This_ mean people are thinking, but they will not do much of that =D))

Aiko's sharp eyes scanned over the morning paper. _Still nothing of interest going on in this pathetic little town._ She sighed. Nothing fun ever happened in Cost de Sol. The weather was always hot and sunny. Aiko really hated it there. But now it was time for her to get to work. She was 17 years old and lived on her own, so she had to work constantly to keep up with expenses. However, she worked at a much higher paying job then anything one could find a Cost del Sol; she worked at the Golden Saucer. It was a bit of a trip to get there though. She always had to leave early in the morning to get there. She sighed again and lifted herself out of the chair. _I better get going then._ Aiko walked out the front door, locking it one the way out, and had to squint to see in the blinding sunlight. It was too early for most of the people to be up. That was just the way she liked it. She wasn't really much for people. Aiko, being a bit of a tomboy, greatly disapproved of them all. She was also rather shy. She took a moment to look around and take in the sights, as she always did, and then walked off to begin her trip to the Golden Saucer. She hoped that something interesting might happen today. Anything at all would be better then what she had. _Yeah right. I'll bet that nothing will ever happen and I will be stuck her forever. And then I will die here, all alone, just like I always am._

"Looks like I am a little bit early..." Cloud murmured to himself, looking quickly at the clock in the station. It was now about 1:50pm. The air tram came to a halt and he waited for the passengers to get off. After all the chattering people disembarked from the tram, he stepped in and took a seat on one of the benches at the very front of the tram. He felt the trolley lurch forward and the propellers roaring to life. Then it started its' rather slow trip up to the Golden Saucer. Cloud watched the town slowly disappear from the back window as the tram moved up. He looked back around at the empty tram and sighed. This was going to be the first time since he had seen some of his friends in a year. All of them had seemed to be so busy through out the last year. Barret had been helping clean up his home town of Corel, which Cloud had noticed looked a lot nicer since the last time he saw it. Cid had been rebuilding his house, which had been demolished when the rocket had taken off. Cait Sith, or Reeve, as everyone now knew, had been looking for another job, last Cloud had heard. Vincent had gone back to sleeping, and Cloud had the feeling he wouldn't be coming. Nanaki had been at home, probably protecting the people from anything, and spending time with his grandpa while he still had some left. Yuffie had been materia hunting, and Cloud hadn't heard much of what Tifa had been up to. _It'll be nice to see everyone again..._ Cloud mused to himself.

Aiko patted the chocobo fondly on the head. Her job at the Golden Saucer was to take care of the racing chocobo. She also sometimes had to greet the guests, which she disliked greatly, but right now it was time for her lunch break. She walked out of the stables and headed towards the new café that had been built. Aiko stepped into the cafeteria and walked up to the counter to see what there was to eat today. It was still packed even though it was about two o' clock. _The Golden Saucer is always packed._ She reminded herself. She grabbed some food that looked good and sat down. She always ate rather quickly, she hated being in the café. There were just too many people for her. All of them were munching loudly as they talked to each other about their pointless lives. Many of them had come here with friends; which would be nice to do if Aiko had any. Aiko finished her little lunch and stood up. She took a quick glance at all of the others in the room. She noted the most of them had just come to get some junk food. She then marched quickly past the hoards of gabbing people and slid outside. She was just about to step into the doorway that led to the chocobo center when the lights flickered and went out.

The tram had just about made it up half way up to the Golden Saucer when suddenly it came to a jolting stop. _What the hell!?!_ Cloud's head smashed into the window from the force of the stop. The over head lights flickered and died. _Oh joy. So much for being early. _Cloud rubbed the back of his head and stood up, feeling the trolley sway. _Oh god... Not now..._ Cloud felt his motion sickness starting to kick in. It wasn't so bad normally, but not being able to see anything at all in a moving vehicle really set it off. He quickly ran over to one of the windows and pulled it open.

_Shit. This is just great..._ Aiko jogged through the darkness, trying to get away from the many screams of confusion from the guests and find a flashlight for these morons. She looked around carefully at the walls. Her night vision was much better then most peoples', but even so, she saw no signs of an emergency flashlight. Aiko sighed and continued her search. The people were still yelling and screaming, but she must have been farther away because now it was much quieter. She marched on still, passing the Theater. She looked quickly at her watch. It was now about 2:20pm. Aiko continued looking around in the blackness. _I guess they never thought that the power would go out._ She sighed again. The people had started chattering and she could hear some yelling. _They must be telling the workers off._ The semi-silence was unexpectedly broken as a shrill scream filled the halls. _That's no scream of confusion..._ Aiko looked around rapidly, seeing nothing. More of the shrill screams filled the air, but just as quickly as they started, they stopped. _What on earth is going on?_ Aiko felt her heart start to race. There was absolutely no noise now. _I think I liked the screams better. At least then I knew everyone was still here...._ Then she heard a soft dripping noise from behind her. She turned around slowly, and looked about. Nothing was there. _I liked the silence better!_ Her heart was now pounding against her ribs. Heavy footsteps now over took the dripping noise. "Hello?" she called out; hoping it was another worker who could explain what was going on. No reply came. And she thought her heart was pulsating before. _What the hell is going on? Who on earth would be creeping around in the dark?_ Aiko's mind growled. _Well whoever it is, their going get it big time! _

Cloud pulled himself back up from the window and felt his whole body trembling. He sighed and slowly sank back into one of the seats. _I wonder how long this is going to last? It should be fast though; the Golden Saucer wouldn't want to lose any money for this._ Cloud brushed his bangs out of his eyes. He looked up at the convenient illuminated clock on the wall of the tram. 2:05 was what it now read. He sighed again and laid his head back on the windowsill. Cloud let his eyes slid close, and took a deep breath. His body was still trembling. A small rattling noise caught his attention; he felt the tram rattling with it. _What the hell is going on now?_ Cloud stood up, and heard the noise again, but now closer to him. With every passing second the noise got louder, and came faster then the last. Just as it was directly above him, it stopped. Cloud held his breath, not daring to move. He heard a hollow thunk and waited for the next noise. Nothing came. After about a minute Cloud relaxed. _Maybe it was just a bird?_ His mind retorted sharply at him. _A bird, eh? Some damn big bird to shake the whole trolley!_ He thought about it for a moment. There was no way it could have been a bird. Cloud started to turn around to sit back down when he felt a sharp jab to his gut. Just as quickly as the pain came, it went as the world turned blacker then it already was.

((Well, what did you think? Cool huh? Well, please do review it and give me any ideas on what you think would be cool and all that. Also, if you see any errors, point them out so I can fix them. Also, I would like to say that if you really, really want me to; I can put the old FF7 2 back up. Say if you want me to in the reviews and I will see what I can do. Thanks for reading my story!))


	2. The cold gray haze

((Dun dun dun!! Behold it is the second chapter! I got this one up faster then I thought I would. Do tell me if you see any errors, say so and I can fix them. I also wanted to ask if you people wanted me to put a reviewer response in the beginning of my chapters. If you want me to, ask. And if you can think of a better name for my story, then please tell me. I don't like FFVII-2 all that much. It's too dull. Well I really don't have much else to say, but please do read and review. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7.))

Aiko listened as the footsteps grew louder. _It must be a guy; the footsteps are too heavy for a girl's_. With each step she could feel herself twitch. _This really isn't good..._ Her eyes finally caught a glimpse of the person. It was a man, he was about six feet tall, and was carrying something really long. A small glimmer of light told her what it was. A sword, and a huge one at that, it was at least as long as the man was tall. _Oh shit._ There was no way she could take on someone carrying a sword of that size. With one swipe that thing would cover the whole hallway. Once the man was about twenty feet away he stopped. Aiko could now see that he had whitish-sliver hair, that was longer then hers. _Wow, he could pass for a girl with that hair_. It almost looked at if he had... bunny ears? His bangs hung over his face in two thick strips. Both looked as if they had been hacked with scissors. He wore a black outfit with large white shoulder guards. He had a long black cape too. But the really creepy thing about him was his eyes. He had cold, ice blue eyes, which seemed to glow. They made her want to shudder. _Damn, what is up with his eyes?_ Aiko heard the slight clang has the man lifted his sword up, getting ready to attack. _Shit! What do I do?_ The only thing that came to her mind was to run. _There's no way I could out run him..._ She couldn't stand and fight; there was no way she could win. _Well, it's better then dying with my tail between my legs_. She got ready. Time seemed to slow. The man came charging at her, a cold, heartless look on his face.

Sephiroth watched the girl stand there, in the middle of the hall. She was watching him, waiting for him to make the first move. _So be it._ Sephiroth pulled his sword up. _Not one of them is going to put up a fight._ He grinned slightly to himself. _That bastard didn't even see this coming._ He let one foot slide forward slightly, and watched as the girl got into a fighting stance. Does _she really think she can take me?_ Sephiroth charged. He covered the distance between in a split second. He felt his sword cut into the metal of the walls has he ready for attack. Sephiroth wheeled the sword over and grinned as he saw the look on the girl's face. With a loud squeal she propelled herself back and fell over. His sword planted itself firmly in the wall. _What the hell?_ Sephiroth ripped the sword out of the wall and aimed it down. With yet another annoying wail, she rolled over and dodged that attack too. _What the hell is going on? She must be one damn lucky brat._ Sephiroth yanked his sword out of the ground.

Seizing her chance, Aiko rolled out of the way of the second attack, and as the man started to pull the mammoth sword out of the ground, Aiko thrust forward her leg and she planted her foot firmly his jaw. The moment from the kick also gave her the force she needed to roll backwards and stand up. _Gees.... I didn't know I could do any of that! But no time for that now. _ Aiko quickly twisted around and started to run. Time returned to its regular speed again. She sped past a corner and headed for the doors. She jumped quickly into the hotel's doorway.

Sephiroth yanked his sword out of the ground and just as he did so, the girl pulled her foot up and smashed it into his jaw. She then rolled back and jumped to her feet. She looked stunned for a moment at what she had just done, but then started running. Sephiroth pulled himself back upright and watched her flee. He popped his jaw back in place. _No matter... Now that I know, it may be of some use later...._ Sephiroth looked behind him at the approaching man.

"My lord? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine; do you think a child could harm me?"

"N-No my lord, no." The man shrank back slightly. "What do you wish of us, my lord?"

"Follow the girl. She might be useful later. Make sure that bastard doesn't wake up until we are done."

"Yes my lord." With that the man in the black cloak bowed, turned, and started off back into the shadows.

Sephiroth grinned again. Every thing was going as planned, and there was even a bonus.

Aiko stood for a moment in the shadows, she felt like she was being followed. But seeing and hearing nothing she decided to continue. Aiko pushed open the hotel door and stepped inside. She marched up to the desk and rang the bell. No one came. "Hello?" She called. _This is too messed. Someone should be here. They would never just leave. They would get fired_. Aiko walked up the stairs to see if any of the guests knew where the manager was. Unlikely, but it was worth a try. Aiko reached out and grabbed the gold doorknob. She was just about to turn it, when she got a strange sensation. It was as if time had slowed down again. Everything had become a shade of gray. She could feel someone coming up behind her. It was just the same as when she had dodged all of those attacks from the man with the huge sword. She turned slowly around and as the knife coming at her head; it seemed almost highlighted in the gray haze. She moved her head and watched as time sped up again and the knife planted itself in the door. _That would have been my head... _ She was shocked for a moment and then looked down at the attacker.

It was a person in a long black cloak. She couldn't tell the person's gender, or anything else for that matter. The cloak covered them completely. Aiko contemplated quickly. _Should I just run? I don't have anything to defend myself with, and on top of that, I have no idea how to fight._ Running sounded like her best option. Aiko ripped across the carpeted floors and pulled open one of the doors, and ran in. She locked it tightly. With a sigh she slid down to the floor. _What is going on here?_ Aiko's head was starting to pound. She had to get out of here. _But the tram will be down because of the loss of power. And the only other way would be to go down to the prison. And then I would be stuck down there, which isn't much better then up here._ She shook her head slowly. No, she would have to wait for the power to go back on. _Or I could turn it on myself._ She stood up. That was what she had to do. But it would be risky. _I can't go back through the hotel. I'll have to go out the window. _Aiko walked over to the window and threw it open. It was a twenty foot drop. Aiko looked around to see if there was anything soft to land on. Nothing was to be found.

Aiko grabbed the sheets off the bed and looked for something to tie them to. The only thing was the leg of the dresser. She tied a tight knot to it and then began to tie the sheets together. She tossed them out the window and looked down. The sheets lowered the drop to ten feet. Well_, I just hope I don't break anything._ Aiko jumped out the window and clung firmly to the sheets. She moved each hand down carefully and little by little began her decent. She was soon at the bottom of the rope. She looked down one more time, and closed her eyes. Aiko lowered herself as much as she could, and closed her eyes. She felt herself dropping. She hit the ground, landing on her feet and then fell over. Aiko opened her eyes and found she was looking at the wall of the hotel. _I didn't break anything?_ She stood up and found she hadn't. She regained her composer and began to run. She jumped down the passage leading to the theater. Aiko landed and walked out into the main room. A horrid smell hit her. _Oh god. What is that?_ She looked around and saw a gruesome sight. Everyone who had been in the theater was lying on the ground. There was blood everywhere.


	3. The promise

((Wee!! Chapter three here! I hope you all enjoy. And yes, I did change Tifa and Cloud's age, because it is my fan fiction. So ha. Please tell me what you think of the new name for my story too. Tell me if you want me to do reviewer responses while you are at it. Sorry if it is kind of hard to read at the parts were people are talking, when the document gets uploading it loses all that spacing, so yeah, don't hiss at me because I can't fix it.

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or any of the messed up schizoid people in it coughcloudcough.))

Aiko gazed around the theater and had to hold her nose as she walked closer to the pool of blood. She looked down at some of the bodies and found that most of them had been killed by having their throats slit. Aiko tried to stay out of most of the blood but found it harder then it looked to be. She moved around slowly, trying to find the opening she needed. Since it didn't seem to be in plan view, she thought maybe it would be behind the stage. Aiko pulled herself up on to the polished wooden stage and walked over to the curtains. She slid behind the fuzzy red velvet curtains and looked around. _Ha there it is!_ Aiko picked up her pace as she headed towards the small opening with the gray ladder sticking out. Aiko took note of the area as she walked. _There must have not been as many people back here when the killing happened..._ She glanced around the room and only saw one girl that lay dead. She had fallen close to the ladder that leads down to the power room. _She must have had the same idea as me..._ Aiko tried not to think about what had happened to them all. She may have been a cold person, but she wasn't heartless. i _I am going to need therapy after this... /i _ Aiko walked around the body and looked down at her face. It she looked to be about 18 years old, just one year older then she was. She had long brown hair that went down to about her waist. She was wearing a very beautiful teal dress; there was a large tear in the fabric, around it were deep red stains. _Blood..._ Aiko sighed. _She must have been waiting for someone important, or she wouldn't be dressed to nice._ Aiko wondered who it was. She felt sorry for him if he was still alive, but then he could have been one of the dead that lay on the floor.

Aiko sighed and looked back to the ladder that lead down and stepped forward. She was just about to grab hold of the metal when she felt something seize her ankle. A quiet yelp escaped her mouth. _What the hell_ Aiko pivoted to see what was holding her. It was the girl. _She's still alive!?!_ Aiko was astounded.

"D.... Don't....... leave......." The girl murmured as she released Aiko's ankle.

_She's dying._ Aiko dropped down next to her. "It's okay, I'm right here."

"Please....... Please......" She reached her hand out towards her.

"What? What is it?" Aiko took hold of her hand. "What do you need me to do?"

"Give....... This....... To..." Her hand was shacking violently. She moved her other hand up to her neck. She pulled of her necklace, and held it out to her.

"Who do I need to give this to?" Aiko took the necklace from her other hand.

"Give...... to...... Cl..... Cloud....." Her brown eyes swelled with tears. She let her hand that had held the necklace fall. "Please......"

"I will. I'll give it to Cloud for you. I promise."

A faint smile came across the girl's face. "Thank..... you........." Her eyes slid closed, and Aiko felt her arm go limp. She let go of her hand and watched it drop to the floor. Aiko sat there for a moment, taking in what had happened. Why had so many people been killed? What had they done to deserve such a grizzly death? Why has **she**been spared? _Now's not the time for this._ She forced herself to stand. _I can't stop now._ Aiko put the necklace in her pocket, hoping that she would be able to keep her promise. She latched her hands tightly to the cold metal of the ladder and started down.

Cloud pushed himself up slowly. It was dark, and he could hardly see. He stood up gradually, using one of the chairs as a crutch. Whatever he was in was swaying because of his movement. He head was throbbing, but other then that he felt alright. He looked around, now that his eyes had become accustomed to the darkness, and tried to remember what had happened. His memory was slightly fuzzy_. I must have hit my head of something... _He shook his head slightly and ran his fingers though his bangs. _First I was in the trolley.... Then the wires were shaking... And then...._ Cloud closed his eyes. _No, it couldn't have been... He's dead..._ Cloud's eyes snapped open as he forced the thought out of his mind. That didn't matter right now. He first had to think of a way to get out.

Aiko dropped off the ladder and looked around. She was on a narrow catwalk, and couldn't see what was beneath her. She took one step forward, feeling the bars under her hands quiver slightly. _No point in being scared off now..._Aiko took a determined deep breath and pressed on. She walked for about two minutes and finally reached a large terminal box. "Yes!" Aiko pulled it open and looked at all the switches. After a few moments she saw that the main power switch had been turned off. _This better work..._ She reached out and flicked it to 'on'. Huge, blinding lights snapped on. Aiko shielded her eyes. She opened them to a slit, and lowered her arm. She blinked a few times to get used to the light, and then figured that she had better move on.

Sephiroth felt his sword slice cleanly through the last person in the room. He had now killed just about every last human on the Golden Saucer. He swung the sword sharply before sheathing it, sending the blood that had been on the sword splattering all over the wall. He took one look around before walking to the exit of the café. The lights flickered and then snapped on. Sephiroth narrowed his eyes to see. _Damn that girl. She must have found the main power source. No matter... My work here is done. _ Sephiroth smirked. _Too bad that there where not more of the bastard's friends..._ He couldn't wait to see the look on Cloud's face.

Cloud was blinded as the lights in the tram snapped on. The trolley groaned as the propellers revved up and started moving again. There was a sudden jerk as the tram started back up along the cables towards the Golden Saucer. He quickly sat down to stop himself from falling over. _Wonder why it took so long to get the power back up?_ Cloud watched as the station grew closer. He had a very bad feeling about all of this.

Aiko sprinted past more of the hooded psychos that seemed to just pop up out of no where. They seemed to be following her. She jumped into the doorway that lead to the station. She had been lucky that none of them had been armed. All of them hadn't given chase to her, but she didn't want to risk anything at this point. Aiko stepped into the circular lobby of the station. There were more of the eerie people in the black cloaks, but they paid no heed to her. Aiko looked around cautiously at them, and took a hurried pace across the lobby. _Gees, the guys are all over the place..._ She stepped out of the circular room and ran into the station. She could hear the familiar roar of the propellers that powered the trolley. _Oh, thank god. I don't have to wait for the tram. _ Aiko skidded to a halt and tried to calm herself. There were none of the hooded people in the station, which made her feel a little better. _It's all over now. No more creepy people in the black cloaks, assassins with huge swords, and no more dead bodies._ Aiko reached into her pocket and looked at the necklace that the girl had told her to give to 'Cloud'. It had a silver chain that connected to a circular metal ring. In the center of the ring was a small white sphere. It just seemed to 'float' in the center. _Is that..... Materia?_ Aiko peered down at the white sphere and poked it. It was very beautiful. Aiko came to her senses and mentally shook herself. _It's none of you business. _ She stuffed the necklace back in her pocket and sighed. Aiko shivered, looking around the station. She gasped slightly when she saw the mass of people in the black cloaks right behind her. _Oh shit! They weren't there before! Now what do I do?_ They had completely surrounded her. She curled her hands into a fist as she felt the wind from the trolley whip at her legs. _Well, time to run._ She told herself as she heard the tram screech to a stop. The door slid open as Aiko closed her eyes and made a break for it. _Please don't come after me; please don't come after me.... _ Just before the opening into the tram she rammed into something very hard.

Cloud watched the station grow closer as he tried to think. None of this made any sense. _There's no way that Sephiroth is alive! I killed him! And, even if he did live, the surge of Holy would have killed him._ Cloud couldn't help but feel he was deeply mistaken. Cloud stood up as the tram stopped and stretched. _ No point in worrying about it now I guess..._ The door glided open as Cloud yawned, closing his eyes. He took one step out of the door, opening his eyes, just in time to see some crazy kid coming straight at him. _What the hell?!?_ The girl rammed into him, sending them both careening backwards. The back of Cloud's head smashed against the ground.

Aiko felt herself, along with whatever she had rammed into, falling. Her fall was soft. _The thing I rammed into must have broken my fall..._ Aiko sighed. It took her a moment to realize that the 'thing' she had fallen on was warm, and it had a heart beat. Aiko snapped open her eyes and sat up. She was **sitting** on some guy. "Holy shit!" Aiko screamed and jumped up. She scuttled away from the body and tried to recover from the scare. After Aiko's heart went back to its normal pace, she looked down the man; he appeared to be unconscious. _He must have hit his head on the ground.... _ Aiko's mind suddenly snapped back to the problem at hand. The people in the black hoods were watching her, and she suddenly felt very embarrassed about running into the guy. She felt her face burning with blush, as she tried to shake off the feeling._ Come on Aiko, pull it together. It sure as hell doesn't look like any of them care. _She shook her head and focused on the people in the cloaks. Many of them were shifting, as if they were expecting something. All of them turned simultaneously. Many gave nervous quivers, and they started to part, making a path. _Shit! What now??_

Cloud groaned as he sat up, rubbing his head. The same girl that had rammed into him was standing next to him. At the sound of his movement she turned her head. A look of shock came over her face when she saw he was up. Cloud stood up, still rubbing the back of his head. It was still reasonably painful, but he had been through worse. Cloud glanced over at the girl, who still looked astonished. "I'm fine." Cloud barked. The girl had flinched when he had raised his voice, but he didn't care. She had plowed him over, so she would have to deal with it. He now turned his attention to what she had been staring at before she had noticed he was up. _Fuck..._ Cloud now realized that he had been mistaken. There were at least twenty of Sephiroth's cloaked followers. _Damn it..._ Cloud was shaking with fury. _This can't be happening..._

"Um..... Do you know who those people are.......?" The girl asked shyly.

Cloud glanced at her, "They are followers of a psychopath named Sephiroth."

"Hah... I never knew you had such a high opinion of me." Cloud's blood froze in his veins at the sound of that voice.

"Sephiroth..." Cloud spat.

"Good to know you still remember me." Sephiroth chuckled to himself.

"What the hell are you doing here?!?" Cloud growled.

Sephiroth just laughed, "Wouldn't you love to know?"

Cloud growled, "Get the hell out of here, before I kill you."

Sephiroth laughed again, "You can't kill me; you're far too weak to do so."

"Shut the hell up!!" Cloud drew his sword and rushed Sephiroth.

Aiko took a few steps back as she watched Sephiroth and the other guy yell at each other. _I wonder how they know each other? They must really hate each other..._ Aiko turned to face Sephiroth when she noticed something strange. _It's happening again..._ Time had seemingly slowed down again, except everything was still in color. She turned back to the other man, and was shocked to see large black, dragonish wings protruding from his back. She looked back at Sephiroth, and saw that he now had one black and one white feathered wing. _What's going on? Why am I seeing this?_ Aiko closed her eyes tightly. _What's wrong with me!?!?_ She opened her eyes again. Everything was as it was before.

The one guy pulled out a huge broad sword and charged at Sephiroth. Sephiroth drew his equally large sword and the two clashed. The man with the broad sword pressed harder against Sephiroth's blade and swept his sword forward, sending Sephiroth sliding back. Sephiroth skidded to a halt, growling slightly. He kicked off and propelled himself forwards again. He wheeled his sword out before him and slammed solidly into the broad sword. "You cannot win." Sephiroth muttered.

"You keep thinking that." The man with the broad sword growled. Sephiroth smirked, and punched him soundly in the gut. The other guy drooped his guard, and Sephiroth seized the chance. The only reason he wasn't cleaved in half was the solid kick he pulled off; hitting Sephiroth in the stomach. Sephiroth growled, fresh blood dripping down his sword, he hadn't made his kill, but he had wounded the other man. The guy with the broad sword held his side, clutching the bleeding cut. "Hm, cheap shoot."

Sephiroth smirked, "Now to finish you once and for all."

_That guy can't wield that sword one handed, and if he takes his other arm off the cut, it will tear open more then it already has, and he will bleed to death._ Sephiroth lifted his sword above his head. The people in the black cloaks crowded around, forming a ring around the two. The guy with the broad sword scowled. _He can't run now..._ Aiko could hear her heart pounding. _Am I just going to watch him die? There's nothing I can do.... Oh damn it! I am going to hate myself for this later!_ Then only thing Aiko felt was the flesh of her palms parting and the warmth of her oozing blood.


	4. The gathering

((Ha! It's another chapter of Time's Scar here for you, as I hope you would know. Sorry for taking so long to update, but school has been hell the past few months, so yeah. I have also had no inspiration to write. Even though no one but my friends has been reading this story, I shall keep writing! I hope as it gets longer more people will read it. Oh well! You guys need to give me ideas and stuff for this story. Also please DO tell me if you want reviewer responses, and no, that doesn't mean tell me that you don't care. Feel free to give me ideas too.))

Barret tapped his foot impatiently. The tram had been stuck in the middle of line for some time now. He growled loudly and stomped over to the near by booth of the man who ran the tram. "What the hell is takin' so fuckin' long?" He pounded his fist on the desk.

The man cowered slightly, "P-please sir, try and keep calm! We are doing everything we can to get the tram up and running again......"

Barret growled again and stomped off. _What in the name of all the hells is going on here!?!_ He sat down on one of the many benches that the Golden Saucer had placed there. He sighed deeply to himself; _I don't think this could get any worse. _

He knew that the others would have a great laugh about him being late, considering that he lived in North Corel. He had gone and gotten drunk again last night, and had one of the worst hangovers yet. He should really stop doing that. _Oh well, it's not like I got myself killed._ He laughed slightly to himself, but knew it wasn't really that funny. Marlene would be very mad at him if she knew. He had left Marlene in Elmyra's care; he knew it would be better that way. Since the destruction of Midgar, they had moved to Kalm. Marlene would be safer there then she would be here. _At last I can still go and visit her... _

Yuffie grinned blissfully as she ran away from the now very angry woman. She had successfully managed to steal what little Materia the old hag had with her. Yuffie after all, was a Materia hunter, and would do whatever it took to get her hands on it. She turned sharply, and ran into an ally. Yuffie jumped nimbly over a wall, leaving the woman to shriek swear words at her. After a little more running she stopped, catching her breathe, she had come to Rocket Town to see if she could bum a ride off of the old man, Cid. She knew he would be mad, but she prayed that he hadn't left yet. Deep down she missed all the others, and wanted to see them. It had been just about a year now, and she had too much time on her hands. There were only so many people to torment.

She marched up to the back door of Cid's house, and rapped on the door. There was no answer. "OLD MAN! ARE YOU THERE!?!?!" She screeched as she pounded on door more.

"What the fuck!?! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT!?!?!!" Cid yelled as he pulled open the door. "Oh, it's you. What the hell are you doing here?"

"I need a ride to the Golden Saucer. You just happened to be the closest person." Yuffie smirked.

"Oh damn it!" Cid looked at his watch, "Fucking hell, well might as well. Shit we are going to be late...."

Vincent's crimson eyes slid slowly open. It was dark, as it had always been. He lifted the cover off of his coffin, sitting up. _What has awakened me?_ He pondered. Vincent stood up and climbed out of his coffin. _There must be something..._ He looked around, seeing nothing but the cold gray walls around him. A thought suddenly came to him. This was the day when all the others were meting at the Golden Saucer. _Could that be what was woke me up?_ He looked down at his left 'hand'. He didn't feel that it was his place to be there, but they had invited him.

Vincent sighed deeply. This was the first time in about a year that he had been awake, even though his dream had still been pledged with nightmares. He felt as if he had achieved some retribution, by helping Cloud and the others by stopping Meteor. It still hadn't been enough to stop the nightmares. But, then, maybe they had become a little less frequent. _I might as well go..... They did invite me, and I don't think I shall be able to fall asleep again..._ Vincent opened the thick door of his prison, and slid out into the empty hallway. It would be nice to see some human faces again, and the fresh air might do him some good.

Nanaki's tail twitched slightly as he stood outside. _I hope Grandpa will be okay..._ He walked into Bugnhagen's house. "Grandpa?" He called.

"Yes Nanaki?" Bugnhagen floated down to the first level of the house.

"I was going to go to the Golden Saucer. Cloud and the others are planning a meting. But if you are not feeling well, I don't want to leave you."

"Ho ho hoooo!" Bugnhagen laughed, "I would much rather you go have fun then look after me."

"But if you are not well, then I cannot leave!" Nanaki barked.

"I'll be fine Nanaki." Bugnhagen reassured.

Nanaki looked down momentarily. "I promise I will be back soon Grandpa."

"I know you will Nanaki. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." Bugnhagen nodded.

Nanaki walked out into the cool dusk air of Cosmo Canyon. He knew he was already late, but he had to make sure that his Grandpa was in relatively good health. _Please Grandpa.... Don't leave me, not now.... _

Reeve looked down at his watch. He was going to be late for the reunion, but he had to finish this paper first. He had a new job, writing mostly articles for a newspaper. Once he found a better job, he would quit, but this put money in his pocket. He jotted down the last few sentences for his report on the search for a new power source. With Shinra and Midgar gone, there were very few Mako reactors left, and there was a scramble to find new power sources. Of course there was the fact that Mako sucked the life out of the planet, so most scientist argued against the use of it.

He looked over the paper one more time, and at last stratified; he laid it down on his desk and pulled on his jacket. He looked at his watch again. Hope they don't mind my being late. Reeve stepped out of his office, pulling out his cell phone to make sure it was on. He hoped that they wouldn't call him in for anything tonight. He really just wanted to catch up with the others.

The blonde man turned slowly to face her, "What the hell... do you think you're doing........?"

Aiko felt her arms shaking under the growing pressure of Sephiroth's sword. _I'm going to die here, aren't I? _She watched the sword inch closer to her face. A small amount of blood dripped onto her face.

"Stupid child," Sephiroth growled, "Get out of my way!" He drove his foot into her side. The impact sent her flying to the edge of the circle around them.

"Are you okay...?" The other man took a few, labored steps towards her.

Aiko could feel that one of her ribs was broken as she struggled to sit up. _Damn it..._ The blood from her palms was dripping onto the floor, making a tiny splattering noise. Aiko nodded to him, and forced herself to stand, despite the nauseating pain in her side. "You've already killed everyone else here....." Aiko's breathing was labored, "Isn't that enough?"

Sephiroth laughed, "Stupid, stupid girl. You just don't understand do you?" He turned his gaze to the man with the broad sword, "I'm just catching up with my dear old friend... I thought he could use a gift for when we meet."

The blonde haired man's eye suddenly widened as they turned back to Sephiroth, "You... you couldn't have..."

Sephiroth's grin broaden, "I did, and I enjoyed every second of it." Sephiroth sighed, "If only more of your worthless friends had been here..."

"You bastard......... I'll....... I'll kill you!" The man with the broad sword screamed in fury, lifting his sword again and charging.

_He'll get himself killed...!_ Aiko ran after him. She reached Sephiroth a split second before the other man did, however it was long enough for her to push Sephiroth's blade away. _Why am I doing this?_ The other man wasn't impaled, but Sephiroth's sword went straight though his shoulder.

"Burn in hell Sephiroth..." The blonde man pushed his sword deeper into Sephiroth's stomach. Aiko fell down to her knees, the blood loss was taking effect. The blonde haired guy pulled his sword out of Sephiroth and yanked Sephiroth's sword out of his shoulder.

Sephiroth backed off, blood oozing freely from the gapping hole in his torso. "Hm, you got lucky this time, Cloud."

"Cloud....?" Aiko looked to the man holding the broad sword. That was the man that girl was talking about. "Oh my god..." She whispered. Cloud glanced over at her, looking confused. He drove his sword into the ground, and fell down to his knees, using it as a crutch. Blood poured from his wounds, making a scarlet pool beneath him.

"Don't think this is over," Sephiroth walked over to the edge of the Golden Saucer,

"Let's go." With that, he jumped off the ledge. The many people in the black cloaks started after him.

Aiko turned back to Cloud, who was panting. "Are you okay?" She walked slowly over to him, holding her rids.

"Yeah, I'll be okay." He looked over to her again, "Uh, thanks... for all the help."

She sank to her knees, feeling light headed, "Anytime..."

"Sir?" The man from the counter called, "The trolley is fixed, you can go up now."

Barret jumped up, "Finally!" He walked over to the trolley, which was now speeding down the tracks.

"Yo, wait for us!" A voice yelled from behind him.

Turning, Barret saw Cid and Yuffie running after him. "Hey, you guy's are late." He said, grinning.

"Damn it man, so are you!" Cid barked.

The both laughed, "Good to see you both again."

"We had better get going up there," Yuffie pointed out, "We don't want to miss all the fun."

Both men nodded, and they all stepped onto the trolley. Sitting down, the tram lurched forward, gathering speed. "It'll be good to catch up with everyone, eh?"

"Yeah, it will," Yuffie agreed, "I can't believe it's already been a year!"

"I know." Cid leaned back, "Time's really been flyin'." Everyone looked at the window, expecting to see the many fireworks that went off at the arrival of guests. Nothing happened. "What the hell's going on?"

"I don't know," Yuffie stood up, "But I don't like the smell of it..." The tram came to a stop, and the doors slid open.


End file.
